On That Note: Do you hear what I hear

[diaclone]

Night Moves - Bob Seger

Actual lyircs - Tight pants points hardly renown"
I heard - "tight pants points all around"

 

[heitclone]

See you naked in the bath, cigarette stains on HANDS. For the longest time I heard, cigarette stains on your ass.

 

[CycloneSarah]

When my sister was little she would sing loud and proud "mayonnaise" instead of "may your days" to this version of White Christmas. Parents would occasionally call her Mayonnaise for years afterward.

 

[cyclones500]

--> I don’t know if I ever mistook it for the actual lyrics, but it’s the way I heard it and still sometimes fall back into hearing it. (Live version more so than the studio track). More believable if you interpret it as contracted form (“Jean’ll I”)

Misheard: Jean will I, Jean will I, Jean will I see you crying?
Actual: Didn’t I, didn’t I, didn’t I see you crying?

 

[IsUaClone2]

For me, the way-too-obvious example of mis-heard lyrics is The Kingsmen's Louie, Louie. The FBI spent 31 months investigating possible lewd lyrics before concluding that they were merely incomprehensible.



I didn't list specific mis-heard lyrics because the permutations of the possible interpretations are too great. Turns out the F word was recorded when the drummer made a mistake somewhere between 46 - 55 seconds into the recording.

The first song I became aware that I had mis-heard was O Tannenbaum
I had thought it was Oh Cannon Ball.

 

[Farnsworth]

My list would be insanely large. I can't understand lyrics for the life of me. You should have seen me in australia trying to figure out what people were saying IN ENGLISH. Watching the BBC might as well be a foreign language to me, Can't understand anything British.

In this song I always sang How Was I.



In this song I don't remember exactly what I Thought the main lyrics was, but I sang "focus, hire a (blank)" instead of Blow a Kiss Fire a Gun.

 

[Farnsworth]

I didn't hear this one wrong, but if you're a 90s kid everyone thought this was funny.

Sing it "I'm blue I would beat off a guy."

 

[Joe4Cy]

For about a week when this came on the radio I thought the song title, and what they were singing was, "Honest I See You." No other clarification necessary.

I always heard "Honest, Lucille..."

 

[Farnsworth]

This song used to get heavy rotation on the station they played at Hy-Vee when I worked there in high school. Just this year I finally figured out what it was. I thought the song was called something like "abalong" even though I have no clue what that even means. That was a pain in the behind to find on YouTube when I wanted to play it for my wife one day since I didn't know artist or title.



In the 90s you also couldnt easily look up lyrics or songs for that matter (well yes napster). So you basically had to guess. I always wondered what the deep voice in this song was saying.

 

[Joe4Cy]

I heard: "four hundred children..."
Actual: "four hungry children..."

I'm 52. I was in my 40s before I figured it out...

 

[oldman]

Actual: "No way to slow down."
Heard: "know he could slow down."

 

[jdoggivjc]

What everyone heard: indeterminate

What everyone should have heard:
With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
Yeah

 

[MeanDean]

One of my favorite Elvis Costello Songs:
Riot Act

I thought it was:
"Why do you talk such stupid nonsense
When my mind could rest much easier
Instead of all this trumped up insolence
I would be happier with amnesia"

Actually lyrics:
"Why do you talk such stupid nonsense
When my mind could rest much easier
Instead of all this dumb dumb insolence
I would be happier with amnesia"

Again, I think I like mine version better.

 

[MeanDean]

Another from EC

I heard:
Oh, I said, "I'm so happy I could die"
She said, "Drop dead" then left with another guy
That's what you get if you go chasing after visions
But since you've got no conscience this has been my sentence

Actual lyric:
Oh, I said, "I'm so happy I could die"
She said, "Drop dead" then left with another guy
That's what you get if you go chasing after vengeance
Ever since you got me punctured this has been my sentence

 

[oldman]

Not really misheard -- A buddy of mine and I listened to this song over and over again one night in the dorms, stoned to the gills. We could figure out the "One of these days..." part, but after that it just sounded like mumbles. A guy was walking down the hall and we called him in to see what he thought. He says, "They're saying One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces." (about the 3:30 mark)

It was then that we realized the guitar sounded just like a chainsaw.

 

[VeloClone]

As a kid I thought this one was "He-e's a woman" Talk about confusing a kid

E-e-vil Woman

 

[VeloClone]

What I hear: A little baby doll watching everybody mash.
Actual: A little bobbin dog watching everybody pass.

In that still he looks a lot like a young Frank Zappa.

 

[JayV]

No one's posted, "Hold me closer, Tony Danza (Tiny Dancer)" ???

 

[VeloClone]

Also when I was a kid I thought it was "I went too heavy on the Psycrodin" Young, innocent Velo assumed that was a reference to some hallucinogenic drug.

My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim.

 

[madguy30]

For me, the way-too-obvious example of mis-heard lyrics is The Kingsmen's Louie, Louie. The FBI spent 31 months investigating possible lewd lyrics before concluding that they were merely incomprehensible.



I didn't list specific mis-heard lyrics because the permutations of the possible interpretations are too great. Turns out the F word was recorded when the drummer made a mistake somewhere between 46 - 55 seconds into the recording.

The first song I became aware that I had mis-heard was O Tannenbaum
I had thought it was Oh Cannon Ball.

Thing with the whole FBI investigation is they could have just learned about the song, and listened to the original version.